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Seafood Workers Say They Were Left Out of BP Settlement

Posted
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

BP might've thought they covered everything in the proposed settlement with the people of the Gulf Coast. But it turns out they might've missed somebody. A group that represents shrimp processors is in court today asking Judge Carl Barbier to delay his blessing of the settlement because key groups in the seafood industry are being left out of the settlement. Specifically, docks, processors, distributors, and packaging supply businesses were left out of the $2.3 billion agreement, the processors group says.

According to the processors group, the settlement makes the compensation for future losses of those groups on par with businesses that aren't in the seafood businesses. That's because the pot of money for seafood businesses like fishers, crew and oyster leaseholders is set up to multiply the losses.

“I simply can’t comprehend how after two years they don’t understand the difference between a seafood dock or processing business and a shoe store,” American Shrimp Processors Assocation Executive Director David Veal said of BP in a statement. “Our future risk is no different than those inside the Seafood Program, and certainly much greater than a flower shop.”

In its own statement, BP took credit for the Seafood Program, saying they provided for claims that could amount to more than would multiply the annual salary of the fishers many times over.